A UN Secretary-General who Defied the US – and Suffered a Backlash (shared by Rober Cohen)

Secretary-General Kofi Annan speaks at a ceremony to unveil the official portrait of his predecessor, Boutros Boutros-Ghali. Credit: UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe

Title: A UN Secretary-General who Defied the US – and Suffered a Backlash
Author: Thalif Deen
Publication: Inter Press Service (via Global Issues)
Date: 22 June 2026Click here for the article

Summary: The article recounts how former UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, despite often accommodating US requests, was denied a second term by a solitary US veto even though 14 Security Council members supported him. It describes US efforts to influence senior UN appointments and Boutros-Ghali’s attempts to balance American pressure with broader member state interests, including the contest over the UNICEF Executive Director position. The piece draws heavily on Boutros-Ghali’s memoir “Unvanquished: A US-UN Saga” to illustrate US political maneuvering and his eventual ouster.

Quotes:
“The US, which preaches the concept of majority rule to the outside world, exercised its veto even though Boutros-Ghali had 14 of the 15 votes in the Security Council.”
“The U.S. Administration did not want just a ‘Yes, Man’ but a ‘Yes Sir, Man’.”
“Many countries on the UNICEF Board were angry and (told) me to tell the United States to go to hell.”